Yaffle continues to build profile

Yaffle, Memorial’s research database, continues its upward
trajectory, and now boasts more than 1,000 research summaries and
100 community projects.

Its profile was further raised when the Globe and Mail highlighted
Memorial’s answer to Google in its Jan 2. edition.

David Yetman spearheaded the Yaffle project and he’s not
satisfied with the current breadth of the search engine –
he’s thinking big.

“If you think about it on a world level, Yaffle has just
amazing potential,” Mr. Yetman told the Globe. “Imagine
5,000 universities using Yaffle and when you do a search on Arctic
sovereignty you get 10,000 hits.”

Yaffle is all about connecting Memorial researchers with the
community, also one of the Memorial’s key mandates. The
search engine allows users to find an expert, query research being
done by the university in their geographic region, and even suggest
research ideas.

Compiled by the university’s Leslie Harris Centre of Regional
Policy and Development, the new resource is a search engine of
Memorial’s expertise and community development resources.

In addition, Yaffle provides a portal on over 400 experts in a
range of fields, many of whom are available for media interviews or
speaking engagements.

One researcher taking full advantage of all that Yaffle offers is
chemical engineering professor Dr. Kelly Hawboldt. The Globe called
her “Memorial's Yaffle superstar.” Her research has
attracted the most hits since the website launched in February, 35
contacts so far.

Dr. Hawboldt has been contacted by companies in Boston and Ireland
with offers of research projects. But more exciting, she told the
Globe, are the connections with foreign students who have found her
through the site and are interested in studying with her.
“It's helping to put us on the map,” she said.
“For somewhere like Memorial that is a little out of the way,
that is especially important.”

If you research, teach or learn at Memorial University, Yaffle is
an opportunity to connect your work with the world. Simply visit
Yaffle.ca and look for the Get Started link to walk you through the
quick and easy process.